Rep. McNally Announces $25,000 for Mahoning County Public Health and $19,900 for Columbiana County Public Health in Ohio EPA Mosquito Control Grants

COLUMBUS- State Rep. Lauren McNally (D-Youngstown) today announced the awarding of $25,000 and $19,900 in state funds for Mahoning County Public Health and Columbiana County Public Health, respectively, from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency’s (Ohio EPA) Mosquito Control Grant (MCG) Program.

“These funds can help with surveillance and control of mosquitoes as well as community education and outreach. It is really important for the public to be informed about the risk mosquitoes can be to their overall health,” said Rep. McNally. “It’s nice that both of these counties received funding from the state and that their awards were at or near the total amount available for a grantee.”

The Ohio EPA’s MCG Program is a collaborative effort between the Ohio EPA and the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) and was developed to help local governments reduce and monitor the potential for an outbreak of mosquito-borne viruses such as Zika, West Nile, and La Cross Encephalitis.

Those eligible to apply are local health departments and other government agencies such as solid waste management districts, mosquito control boards, and local government. Any government agency applying for MCG funds that is not a local health department must obtain sponsorship from a local health department demonstrated through a letter of support. Applications for the program were due on January 27, 2023 and the maximum request per grant application is $25,000.

“I’m glad our local health departments will get more resources for larval and adult mosquito control, like spraying in places where they pose a risk to public health. Ensuring public health is the government's job,” said Rep. McNally.

46 local health departments and municipalities across 41 Ohio counties are receiving $816,000 in grants from the program, including $127,000 to remove scrap tires, a common breeding ground for mosquito larvae, as part of the Ohio EPA’s Scrap Tire Cleanup Program. In total over seven years, the program has awarded $7.5 million to local health departments and communities for mosquito control programs.